


Always Watching

by BurnerAccount



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Human Emotions, M/M, Mabel knows what's up, Mild Gore, Older!Dipper, triangle bill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-27
Updated: 2015-05-25
Packaged: 2018-03-19 20:23:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3623070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BurnerAccount/pseuds/BurnerAccount
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bill can't stop staring.</p><p>Based on the prompt: "Bill experiencing human emotions towards dipper, not knowing how to handle them?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Bill said he’d always be watching, but in the beginning, he’d only meant that he’d keep up with the Pines family in the same way he did all of Gravity Falls - simply knowing what was going on, way before any human could ever figure it out.

It’s a surprise when he finds himself taking it far more literally.

Pine Tree wanders through the woods, and Bill is watching. He fights monsters and fends off a few minor threats to the town, and Bill is watching. He even stocks bobbleheads in the Mystery Shack’s gift shop, and Bill stares at him through each horribly boring second of adjusting their positions to Stan’s standards. Bill said he’d keep an eye on the kid, but he’s only got the one. It’s becoming… inconvenient.

For a moment, he thinks of getting rid of the kid, but he reconsiders almost immediately. After all, even when Pine Tree’s doing incredibly boring human tasks, he’s still sort of interesting to watch. Maybe he's like what daytime television is for humans.

Bill contemplates it for a while, casting a few glances into Pine Tree's life. He can’t just stare at the kid’s face all day, he’ll never get anything done. He resolves to keep just a small part of his awareness on this human, as background noise. 

It doesn't work. The kid sweeps floors. He reads books. He argues with his sibling and then they, _ugh_ , hug each other when they make amends. Meatsacks are so _weird_ for showing emotion through body touching. But for some reason the kid's still distracting him, pulling his attention away from more important things, like creating dreams where someone's teeth crack inside their mouth, or making someone think everyone knows they're a fraud. His work is being _ruined_ by this.

His resolve breaks in less than a week, and he returns to watching his human in person in between jobs. It annoys him that he’s doing it. He’s only supposed to break promises with humans, not ones to himself, but still, he keeps visiting Pine Tree.

Not even to mess with him, or make a deal with him. Just to stare. _Especially_ while he’s sleeping. His dreams are just too fun to miss out on.

Normal demonic work is starting to lose its joy. Bill is too distracted to concentrate on making truly great nightmares. Anyone can make teeth fall out, but getting a really specific, life-ruining dream takes effort, and he’s been having trouble ever since one puny mortal started distracting the hell out of him.

He grumbles quietly as he watches a random human’s mind, crossing his arms and leaning back. The man is running, lungs heaving, eyes watering as he flees from a monster with razor-tipped claws. The parts where the dreamer nearly gets caught make Bill chuckle, but he keeps tilting his omniscient attention towards one dumb kid, so he can’t enjoy himself completely, even when the beast catches up and flays the man from neck to ankles. 

Pine Tree is just sitting around reading a book, lounging in a chair. And though Bill is _right there_ next to wonderful screams of terror and pain, his attention is elsewhere, and he misses the best parts. Bill curses quietly, flaring red and filling this dream with blue fire.

He needs a solution. Whatever is happening, it’s throwing him off his game. Badly. And as much as he would love to blame Pine Tree, Bill would know if he'd caused this.

After all. He’s been watching.

The monster screeches in triumph, the dreaming man screaming on the ground, wanting to flail but whimpering in agony as his skinless muscle and fat drag along the rough dirt of the forest path and trails of fire. The monster crams a flopping length of skin into its mouth. And Bill has an idea. 

He laughs, then snaps his fingers, glowing brightly. Now that he has a way to solve his problem, he’s feeling generous. And since this human’s subconscious just helped Bill out, he’ll do him a little favor.

The dreamer on the ground suddenly has his skin again, and the monster is a _very_ different kind of creature, fluffy, small, and affectionate. For a moment the man is confused, but he accepts the change in the way all dreamers do, and Bill leaves, humming to himself.

He just has to wait for nightfall in Gravity Falls. He’s absolutely certain Pine Tree won’t like this plan. But there are other ways to get what he wants. Bill has messed around with Shooting Star’s dreams before, but this will be his first polite visit.

When the second Pines twin is finally asleep, Bill wanders into her mind. He marvels for a moment. Almost no other human would have this sheer number of rainbows during their sleep unless Bill forced it on them. (Though he’s only done that twice, and both for very good reasons.)

Mabel Pines is riding around on a unicorn, which is, ugh, _so_ annoying, but it’s a dream unicorn, which means he won’t have to deal with the sanctimonious attitude of a real one. She cheers as she rides around on the thing’s back, and when she urges the creature to spear an orc on the tip of its horn and cries in victory, Bill glows brightly. This Pines has a great imagination.

While the orc bleeds glitter onto the ground, the unicorn shaking its head and flinging sparkles all over the grass, Bill sidles up to Shooting Star. She doesn’t notice until he taps her on the shoulder. She turns immediately, shifting into a sidesaddle position on her mount, and gasps. 

Bill feels her mind shift, and the dream turns lucid. A tiny amount of control slips away from him with the change, but for once, he’ll forgive it.

“You,” She says, glaring at him. One accusatory finger points at him. “Oh, I remember what you did last time you were here. Don’t think you can try that again!” Her unicorn rears up slightly. “I’ve gotten a lot better at defending my mind, so-”

“Hey, hey, hey, easy there,” Bill puts his hands up, cutting her off. “If I’d wanted to make this turn bad for you, I’d have done it already. I’m just here to discuss business matters. You wanna listen, or wake up screaming?”

Her eyes narrow, but she crosses her arms and listens. Bill can see her tremble, just a little, before she straightens her back and sticks her tongue out at him. He has to admit, she’s got guts. He flickers brightly in approval. Being a human, she doesn’t notice, and simply hops off her unicorn to the ground, glaring at him.

Bill sighs, then shrinks to a smaller size. Mortals are less intimidated by small things, for some absurd reason, and he needs an assistant for this plan. “I know you’re not really the deal-making type, but this is different than usual. I'll just make one little offer, and then I’ll be out of your hair.”

Shooting Star pauses, hesitant. She looks around her dream, then closes her eyes and concentrates. The unicorn disappears, and a table and a couple of chairs pop up from nowhere, a pot of tea and two cups resting upon it. Steam drifts from the tip of teapot.

Mabel gives him one more skeptical look, then settles into one of the seats. “Okay, I _guess_ I can listen for a bit.”

Bill tips his hat to her, amused. Controlling dreams is difficult for humans, and this was elegantly done. He gives her a slow clap before settling to hover over one of the chairs.

“So! I already know what _you_ want,” That part of his plan had been easy. He’d been holding this back for something important, but to convince this Pines to go along with his plan, he needs it. Bill displays a series of pictures on his surface, blinking between each photo. Her hugging Waddles, their absurd radio host displays, a series of pig-in-business-suit memes. “How long has it been since that pet of yours kicked it?”

Shooting Star had been picking up her teacup, but now she drops it, mouth gaping open. Her jaw works for a while, and Bill waits patiently for it to sink in. Animal souls are…difficult for him, but not impossible. Human souls are out of the question, but this, he can do. He has her attention, and her interest, now he just needs to convince her to take the last step.

“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” She asks in a low rasp, eyes wide. Then she shakes her head quickly, as if to clear her thoughts. “You can’t do that, it’s-”

“I wouldn’t be offering if I couldn’t,” Bill says, irritated, which makes her head snap up again, staring at him intently. “You just need to do oooone little thing for me.”

A few moments pass before she asks, voice quiet. “What?”

“I want your brother’s skin!”

“Absolutely not!” Shooting Star stands up immediately, irate, slamming her hands on the table between them. Bill blinks in confusion. “I loved Waddles, but I’m not going to _kill_ Dipper just for-”

Bill extends his arm to slap it over her mouth, shutting her up. He sighs. Humans never understand. “Yeesh, listen. I don’t want your brother dead either,” It surprises him even as he says it, but it’s true. Mabel hums furiously under his hand and tries to pull back, but his arm simply follows her. “I just want _part_ of his skin, just a piece about, oh,” Bill makes a gesture in the air, about the size of a playing card. “Yay big.”

She only glares at him, so Bill rolls his eye and continues. “I know he’d never agree to hand it over to me, no matter what I offered. But if you asked,” He shrugs. “He’d probably give it to you just _because_ you asked,” Bill brightens, waving his free arm expansively. “And then you get your pig! Everyone wins!”

Shooting Star taps his arm, and he pulls his hand back, letting her speak. Her expression is a mixture of confusion and anger. “But why do you want Dipper’s skin?”

Bill blinks at that. He’d realized he’d wanted it while visiting that nightmare, but now he’s having trouble coming up with a reason. He certainly doesn't have any use for skin in the Mindscape, he can make whatever he wants there. It doesn't have the kind of magical properties he's interested in. He can't even say that he wants to wear it, because Bill has style, and only poseurs with something to prove go around wearing pieces of mortals.

Bill notices he’s been staring off into the Mindscape, and shakes himself. He looks at Shooting Star’s face, then down at the table, then around at the absurd rainbow landscape around them.

Shooting Star clears her throat. She’s giving him the strangest look, and Bill suddenly realizes that he’s been unusually silent, and for way too long.

“Because… it looks… soft?” That seems like a reasonable explanation. And it’s true, even! Bill has spent a lot of time watching the kid. Now that the worst of puberty is over, when Pine Tree actually remembers to shave, Bill kind of wants to run his hand over his face. Maybe slap him around a bit, just for fun. To watch his face turn red from the blows, and have him reel backwards away from Bill, eyes alight with defiance, and then his little human would try to-

He closes his eye again as Shooting Star coughs quietly to get his attention. He completely lost track of things for a second. This is exactly why he needs to solve this problem.

“It’s not too complicated,” Bill shrugs. “I just want some skin,” He pauses. “Or maybe some hair. Or a finger. I wanna own a bit of him forever. Point is, I invade human’s minds, not the other way around, and this should fix it.” Shooting Star gapes at him, her mouth opening and closing. Bill gives her an irritated look. “What? I just told you, I’m not going to kill the kid,” Another pause. “Probably.”

The girl in front of him makes a low humming noise, eyes wide open, lips clenched tight against themselves. Her hands clasp her face. She bounces on the balls of her feet, and Bill watches in complete confusion. He hasn’t exerted any power over her mind, so why she seems to have completely lost it is beyond him.

After a few moments of her insane behavior (Bill likes it, but he can’t figure out where started and that bothers him), Shooting Star seems to calm down, taking in a deep breath and laughing suddenly. Her hands rest on her knees as she leans forward, cackling to herself. Bill rolls his eye. Likely as not she’ll recover in a few moments from whatever fit she just had.

She giggles for a moment more. “Sorry, that was just super weird,” She looks up at Bill, grinning widely. “You want- Oh man. Wow.” Another round of giggling is repressed, and she takes a deep breath. “Hey. So… What if I said I could get you something better?”

Bill hums in thought, narrowing his eye. “Something better, you say?” He leans back, thinking about it. “What have you got in mind?”

“I can’t tell you right now,” Shooting Star clasps a hand over her mouth, holding back more laughter. “It’s gonna be a surprise!”

Bill perks up at that. “Really? Gotta admit, that’s pretty intriguing. Sounds like fun! But!” He holds up a finger imperiously. “If it’s not good enough, you don’t get what you want.”

“Oh trust me, Bill, it’ll be good. Just give me a little time to get it done. And don’t go looking! It’s supposed to be a surprise.” She grins at him, and he flickers again in approval. Even if this deal doesn’t get him what he wants, it'll at least be entertaining.

“Right, then,” He stretches and floats away from the chair, glowing brightly. “You’ve got three days. After that, I might take matters into my own hands.” Mabel Pines bites her lip at that, but her smile remains and she nods. “See you when I see you!”

He leaves her dream, feeling at least amused, though not satisfied. On impulse, he checks in on his human. Pine Tree’s not asleep like his sister, pouring through another book on the supernatural, muttering quietly to himself. He looks exhausted and frustrated, and it’s so annoyingly charming that Bill is angry at himself for enjoying it. There are so many dreams, nightmares, and fascinating minds to mess with, and for some reason he keeps coming back to a dull little human filled with delusions of grandeur. 

Frustrated, he leaves when the kid passes out. Usually he sticks around; sometimes an imagined version of himself will appear in his human’s dreams, and _that_ is unacceptable. He’s been kicking fake Bills out of Pine Tree’s mind for a while. (Imposters are insulting. That’s the only reason.) If he wanted to torture the kid, he’d prefer it was actually _him_ , not some fragment of the mortal’s subconscious.

He manages to hold off from watching the Pines family directly for two days, but he itches to check in. (Bill hadn’t even known what itching _was_ until he’d possessed his human, with all those mosquito bites, but now it’s a sensation he can absolutely relate to.) Still, Shooting Star is one of those humans who’s all about ‘trust’ and ‘reliability’ alongside actually good traits like spontaneity and chaos. Bill’s not thrilled about the wait, but he’d be surprised if she didn’t follow through with her promise.

Bill gives in earlier than agreed upon on the third day. After all, he’s a demon, he can’t be expected to be reliable. He’s already felt _itchy_ (it’s a good word, he’s going to use it more often) with the urge to watch that one particular Pines for a while. Truly, he deserves this for all the restraint he’s shown.

It doesn’t take long for him to appear near the Mystery Shack, and drift through it all unseen. When he finds the mortals he’s looking for, Shooting Star is tying a bow tie around her brother’s neck, humming to herself quietly. Bill notices that she’s doing a terrible job of it. It’s lopsided and off-center and just… generally irritating. But he trails his gaze over his human obsession, and the suit itself looks dapper enough that he grudgingly approves.

Meanwhile, Pine Tree looks both confused and nervous. The twins carry on their conversation, and Bill listens in, intrigued.

“No, seriously, what the heck is this for?” Pine Tree asks, squirming as his sister struggles further with his tie. He slaps her hands away, coughing when she tightens it too much. Dipper clears his throat as he loosens it. “You said it’s important, right? So what’s so important?”

“Dipper,” Mabel says, sounding deeply serious. “All you need to do…. is take a nap.” Her brother stares at her as though she’s lost her mind. “And then-” She glances around herself slowly, then leans in, whispering something softly into his ear. 

Bill sulks. He’d tried to catch the last bit, but missed it. He’d been looking at his human’s dumb, alarmed face. Still, Dipper Pines’ eyes widen, and the way his face twists in absolute confusion is so cute that he’ll forgive it.

“Ooookay,” Pine Tree says, blinking slowly. Bill can tell from the dark circles under his eyes that he’s barely slept in the last few days. The suit this human is dressed in compliments him nicely, and he’s clearly exhausted. His sister has even ordered him to sleep like this, so if he enters the Mindscape, at least he’ll look nice.

Bill’s eye widens.

Shooting Star is _so_ earning some of his favor for this, even if this deal doesn’t pan out. He feels oddly eager.

He hovers around Pine Tree’s bed as the kid settles down, grumbling tiredly to himself and dragging the blankets up. The little mortal is so tired that even before he realizes he’s asleep, Bill is able to pull him into the Mindscape. He tosses and turns, completely unaware that his body has already passed out. Bill rubs his hands together. There are so many things he can do, now. 

“Goddamnit, Mabel, what the hell was the point of this?” Dipper sits up, rubbing at his face. “Dumbest plan ever.” He mumbles to himself, thinking he’s alone.

“Pretty sure your sibling had a great plan, kid,” Bill says, and Pine Tree straightens up like he’s been shocked, looking around the room. He finally notices that everything around him is grey and motionless, and he stiffens.

“Bill,” He says, cautiously. He slides himself off of the bed, standing up and meeting Bill's eye very briefly, then pointedly glancing around. He looks so nervous that Bill feels a shudder of excitement.

“Pine Tree!” Bill exclaims, floating closer… and narrowing his eye. This won’t do. “Greetings can wait. This is just unacceptable.” 

The human flinches back- and freezes in place, as Bill reaches in to retie the human’s bowtie, evening it out. Bill spends a few seconds straightening it as well, adjusting the collar to accommodate it. He drifts back a couple of feet, examining his work.

“Much better.” Bill says smugly. He watches as Pine Tree touches the tie on his neck, then slides a couple of fingers around the collar of his shirt, as if to confirm Bill isn’t trying to choke him to death.

Pine Tree stands where he is, staring. Bill blinks back at him, not sure where Shooting Star had expected this to go. It’s not that he doesn’t appreciate a dressed up Dipper, but it’s not quite worth what he’d offered. There has to be something more. 

Dipper Pines, meanwhile, takes a deep breath, face slightly pink. “If Mabel asked me to do this… I guess it’s for a good reason,” His face scrunches up, then settles into a determined frown as he marches forward. 

“What.” Bill asks, flatly, just before the human’s arms engulf him and draw him close. His front presses against Pine Tree’s chest.

He can feel the blood thrumming in his human’s veins, the beat of his heart. The flesh is firm, and alive. Tingling flickers of Pine Tree’s thoughts travel through him. _(embarrassment / amusement / fear / ow sharp triangle edges / wow he’s warm)_.

Bill stays where he is for a moment, pressed against the chest of his human. It’s both amazingly comfortable, and amazingly infuriating. He can’t decide whether he wants to absorb this human into himself or burn him alive.

Pine Tree coughs, and Bill suddenly realizes that during their… oh no, it was a _hug_ , they were _hugging_ \- he wrapped his arms around Pine Tree. Not just once, but multiple times, a dozen loops of his own arms tying the human in place and wrapping around his torso. He immediately pulls back, darting backwards and blinking.

His human stares at him, cheeks pink and and eyes just a little wide, darting glances at him and then looking away. “So, uh, that was…. something.”

Bill laughs, high and loud, “Who says this was anything, kid?” If he had organs, they would probably be feeling sick right now, but he’s a being of pure energy. He can’t possibly feel bad. “It’s been weird, Pine Tree. I’ll be seeing you. Remember-”

“Always watching,” The kid mumbles, shuffling in place. He lowers his head. Even his ears are tinted pink, and it’s so infuriatingly adorable that Bill glows red with anger.

“You haven’t seen the last of me,” Bill hisses, and disappears in a huff.

——————————

When a certain pig appears back on the Mystery Shack’s doorstep, Shooting Star throws a party, has a deep conversation with her twin, and Bill is watching. But he doesn’t dare focus on it closely, because while she whispers to her twin, Pine Tree’s expression is strange; annoyed, worried, and something else that Bill recognizes, but can't quite place. And for what might be the first time ever, Bill intentionally avoids hearing what his human is thinking.


	2. Chapter 2

Summonings are usually tedious, so sometimes Bill is glad that they’re not all that common for him. He _loves_ making deals, don’t get him wrong, but the physical plane is so dull in comparison to the infinity of the Mindscape. It’s best to just swindle the suckers fast and get to the fun part of the job.

He felt a weak pull a few minutes ago and figured hey, what the hell. It's been a while, you know? Might as well check it out.

He regrets it within moments. This summoning isn’t boring. It’s worse.

“Wait, wait, run that one by me again,” Bill says casually, rubbing a thumb under his eye as if he’s being thoughtful, instead of trying not to turn bright red in simmering fury. “You want me to…” He trails off, prompting.

“Destroy the mind of Dipper Pines,” The hooded man repeats, sounding nervous and more than a little irritated. “I’ll pay anything, of course, I-”

Bill interrupts him. “Dipper Pines,” He draws the name out slowly, as if he has no idea who that is. Like he hasn’t catalogued every dream the kid has ever had, and touched his thoughts whenever the opportunity arose. “What’s your beef with this Pines guy?”

The hooded figure babbles on about some grand master blah plan blah blah blah. Bill tunes him out not even ten words into his speech. Pine Tree has been making a name for himself lately as someone who knows their way around the supernatural. If only he would stop worrying about things like ‘good’ and ‘evil’, he wouldn’t piss off weak practitioners like this who, apparently, will go so far as to set demons on him.

“Hey, hey, I’ve heard enough,” Bill puts his hands up placatingly, and his summoner stutters to a stop mid-speech. “And I know exactly what to do.”

The guy clenches a fist in victory. “Yes, excellent! I will-” Bill ignores the rest of his ranting, one hand casually lighting up in flame. 

The screams last for hours, and Bill laughs the entire time. It’s the funniest damn thing he’s seen in a while.

While the ashes settle, he examines the circle around him. There _are_ a few protections set up, but they only defend against physical threats. Bill laughs again at the sheer idiocy of it. This guy had no idea what he was doing. Who even summons a dream demon, then thinks their weapons will be claws or fangs?

He’s just about to vanish back into the Mindscape when he pauses. As long as he’s here… 

He hits the circle with a quick tap of his cane and it shatters like a thin sheet of ice. Bill could have broken through it at any time, it’s so weak. He scoffs quietly - amateurs, really, at least get your Latin right - and drifts off through the trees in a familiar direction.

It’s the middle of the night - he can feel the dreams brushing around him as people are sleeping - so this is the perfect time. He’s been wanting to check in for a while, but circumstances haven’t been right until now.

It’s no trouble to enter the Mystery Shack, for all that Stan thinks he has things secure. As long as he doesn't call too much attention to himself, he can do whatever he wants here. Bill stops glowing, and shrinks himself until he’s not much larger than the palm of Pine Tree’s hand. He drifts up to his destination easily, quietly chuckling.

Bill resists the urge to literally beam, but he’s still pleased as hell to see a tousled, sleeping Pine Tree, passed out and drooling on his pillow. There aren’t a lot of things he and humans have in common, but he wants to see the kid sleep more and he’s sure everyone Dipper knows would agree with him. Bill savors his human’s dreams, even the boring ones.

This one is particularly interesting. Pine Tree is fighting off an nondescript monster, and there’s a fake dream Bill…. clinging to his arm? Bill fumes quietly for a moment, wondering if he should let this play out, or kick this imposter to the curb. Something feels off about it.

He blinks in realization. He’s been looking at the _concept_ , not the _image_ that shows up in Dipper’s mind - he looks a little harder, and chuckles.

Now _that’s_ an interesting development. Pine Tree dreamed up a neat vessel, but he’s pretty sure he’d choose something different for himself. Still, it makes him feel smug and content, so he decides to relax and watch the show.

Glancing around the physical room, he tries not to laugh too hard at Pine Tree’s ridiculous subconscious (seriously, who even cares about dragons, they're total pushovers if you have any gold on you). And he notices the hat. It’s upturned next to the bed, and he floats closer, lifting it up.

Well, why the hell not? He’s already the right size, and the idea appeals to him. He sets the hat down near Pine Tree’s bed, stuffs one of the human’s shirts into it, and shuffles the cloth around, making a sort of impromptu nest. Then he settles down into his seat, surrounded by the fragments of his human’s aura lingering in the cloth, and watches him dream.

Bill lingers until morning, lounging around and tucking part of the shirt over himself. It’s practically dripping with Pine Tree’s magic and personality, and he’s deeply enjoying it. He’s just rearranging things so he can settle into a different position when he feels the kid’s dream dissolve, shredding to pieces as he slowly wakes up. Bill hesitates.

He could disappear into the Mindscape now. That would be the sensible thing to do. But the energy in the cloth pile he’s made for himself is really comfortable, and he doesn’t want to leave just yet. Bill snaps his fingers, eye widening. For all that this obsession with this stupid mortal is bothering him, it’s given him a lot of insight into humanity. This is probably the exact same feeling as one not wanting to get out from under their blankets when it’s cold outside.

So he stays, and immediately decides that it was a good choice. Pine Tree gets up, mumbling something to himself, stomping off to go do human hygiene things. Bill lets himself light up happily. That idiot didn’t even notice him, and he gets to chill for that much longer.

Bill relaxes where he is for a while, closing his eye. He handles a few things in the Mindscape while he zones out, starting a few nightmares, eating some memories, making people forget the names of everyone they were just introduced to- and starts, suddenly, eye wide, as he feels himself lifted up.

He blinks. Pine Tree is staring at him, looking deeply confused and more than a little nervous. The kid has picked up his hat by the brim, and now he seems uncertain. 

“Um, hey, Bill, it’s… “ The kid trails off, and he rubs the back of his neck with his free hand. “You’re looking… small.”

“The better to surprise you with,” Bill retorts. He doesn’t change his size. If he wasn’t getting out of this nest when Pine Tree woke up, the kid’s going to have to provoke him more to get him to leave now. “What do you want?”

Pine Tree blinks at him, befuddled. It takes him a few seconds to respond. “I kind of wanted to wear my hat, but-” He shuts his eyes, then sighs. “Look, this is strange even for you. Can we talk about this?”

“About what?”

“You can’t-” The kid facepalms, groaning. “You know I remember what happened the other day, right? And now this?” He waves his hand in the air, making a frantic gesture. “All of this is weird!”

Bill summons his cane, twirling it casually. “What do you mean, what happened the other day? I just ran into you, Pine Tree, nothing weird happened.”

Pine Tree’s cheeks turn pink, and Bill feels a small thrill of pleasure at the sight. “Wha- You _hugged_ me! Don’t think I didn’t notice. Most people don’t have, like, a dozen loops of arm around them at once. It was- I dunno,” The kid turns more red as he trails off. Then he starts ranting. Bill glows brighter, amused. “And what’s with the shirt-blanket thing? And my hat? Are you stealing my clothes? You don’t even need clothes, you’re a triangle! You can’t just- use my stuff as- are you using my clothes as a bed? Do demons sleep? Why are you here?”

Bill sighs. So many questions, all of them so pointless. Like he’s ever going to explain himself. He floats out of the hat, grumbling a little. “Fine, take your stuff back,” He brushes himself off, though nothing’s actually stuck to him. “Ruin a guy’s fun, why don’t you.”

His human makes a strangled noise, but tips his shirt out of the cap and almost slaps the thing onto his head, “Bill, look, I-” Pine Tree hesitates, and his face turns such an interesting color that Bill floats closer. It seems to bother the kid, so he moves in a little more.

Pine Tree leans back, but only barely. Bill’s glow creates odd shadows on his face. They’re so close that Pine Tree’s head is cast in a huge shadow behind him, and his face is almost orange in the yellow light.

“So, um, Mabel had a theory,” Mid-phrase, Pine Tree’s voice cracks, and he coughs into his hand, shaking his head. “I was just wondering if it was right.”

“Run it by me,” Bill says. He hadn’t listened in to the last conversation he’d seen between the twins. Shooting Star can come up with some crazy ideas, so this should be fun. “Maybe she’s right, maybe she’s not,” He shrugs, cane dangling from one hand. “Who knows?”

“I-” Pine Tree pauses, then straightens up, bringing his face closer to Bill. There's only a couple of inches between them. “You know what? I’ll figure it out myself.”

It’s so delightful when this human thinks he can work out the mysteries of the universe. He thinks he’s so clever and intelligent. It makes Bill beam in delight. He feels like Shooting Star feels when a kitten falls over and starts pawing at the air. “You’re adorable, kid. Never stop.” He brings his hands in to squish his human’s cheeks.

Pine Tree glares at him, and reaches up - then hesitates, fingers stopping just before touching him. Bill squishes Pine Tree's face more. It's so soft and flexible, it's pretty fun to play with. The human's hand trembles, but Bill ignores it and pokes the kid’s nose.

That seems to be the last straw. Pine Tree grabs him, and after a moment of resistance, he shrugs and lets his mortal pull him from the air, fingers and palm tucked around him. It’s not like he can be hurt by this, and it feels kind of neat. Pine Tree’s hand is shaking a little, cooler than it should be, and through the contact Bill can sense his fear. The rapid beat of his heart pulses through his flesh.

For a moment or two, Pine Tree stares at him, cupped in the human's hand, and through his thoughts Bill feels a strange mix of severe embarrassment, and gentle wonder.

Then Bill gets stuffed into Pine Tree's pants pocket, and he splutters, kicking at the cloth. He finds the opening and pokes his top out, readjusting his hat. “What the hell? What’s this about?” 

Pine Tree throws his hands in the air, bright red in the face, and starts walking. “Look, I didn’t know where else to put you. You can’t just float around the Shack if you want to hang out,” He starts heading down the stairs, and Bill heats up in anger. He stays where he is, though, even when Pine Tree yelps and shakes his leg at the heat on his thigh. “Stan isn’t in today, and I think it’ll be pretty slow, so, well,” He clears his throat. “You could just, I don’t know, keep me company.” His voice rises at the end of the sentence, not quite a question.

Bill kicks him in the thigh, then dangles his arms over the edge of the pocket. His human flinches a little.

“Hmmmm,” Humming is really only a way for him to stall. This isn't really dignified, but he’s already given up a lot of dignity when dealing with this particular mortal. “I guess if you’re desperate for company, I'll take advantage of it.” 

His human lets out a huff of breath, amused, and Bill glows brightly. He’s never had a better chance to mess with the mortal customers of the Shack, and it’s going to _infuriate_ Stan Pines.

And hey, he was already going to waste time watching Dipper. He might as well be as close as he can while he does it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was a request for a sequel to this oneshot, so this is that thing.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the lovely comments and your kudos! I'm glad you guys think this is a cute fic. Here's another chapter for this 'verse, I'm really enjoying writing it.

Bill’s never really been into messing with flesh, unlike other demons. It’s just a pile of meat that leaks when you poke through it, which is so absurd he’s amazed at how humans even stay alive. One jab in the right place, and everything pours out.

He thinks about it as his hand presses on Pine Tree’s neck, the thick vein pulsing against his touch as the human’s heart beats. If he sharpened his finger just a little bit, it would slide in with almost no resistance, and gouts of liquid would shoot out and cover him in warm, red fluid. Bill wraps his arm around the kid’s neck, squeezing ever so slightly. The human's windpipe rushes air into him, then out, in a rhythm that Bill finds intriguing. Every breath and beat is like a countdown to the end of his human’s life.

Bill kicks his legs idly, resting on Pine Tree’s right shoulder as he sits on the rooftop of the Shack. Pine Tree ignores him and keeps flipping through his book. It’s not the Journal, the kid has been pretty diligent about keeping that away from Bill, just some absurd fantasy novel he’s been reading lately. So far Bill has only told Pine Tree half of the major spoilers, but even that didn’t get much of a reaction.

This is… slightly boring. He wants to stay where he is, warm human body underneath him, Pine Tree’s thoughts trying to puzzle out the convoluted plot of his dumb book, but it feels like there should be something more.

It seems like almost nothing Bill does gets a rise out of his human anymore. Granted, he’s been showing up a lot more often, now that Pine Tree knows he’s watching. Bill’s manifested at the oddest times, he’s stared at his human for hours. It has its benefits. Dipper only startles slightly when he sees a single eye in front of his face when he wakes up. Bill even gets to mess with his human’s hair and face whenever he wants, and the mortal doesn’t try to stop him in the slightest.

Things have also changed for the worse. He’ll turn every piece of furniture upside-down, or threaten to strangle the kid, or incinerate all of his clothing, and all Bill gets for his efforts are frustrated glares. And then the kid carries on with his day, coping with everything Bill throws at him. Sometimes even things Bill _literally_ throws at him.

It’s a far cry from the days when just a simple head that’s always screaming would freak Pine Tree out. Messages painted on the ceiling in blood get a cursory glance, then the kid moves on with his morning routine. Sometimes he writes back in the mist on the bathroom mirror, making sarcastic comments that they almost always argue about later. Bill is _not_ a nerd, what the hell does he mean by-

But nevermind.

Humans are adaptable. Maybe it’s just that he’s been around too often. Pine Tree’s getting used to him, adjusting to having a demon around. Slowly, Pine Tree is working Bill seamlessly into his life.

And soon, he won't be surprising anymore.

The thought makes his arms slump, dropping away from his mortal’s neck. Pine Tree spares him a glance - the first in quite a while - and the corner of his mouth turns up. “Not going to kill me yet, Bill?”

“I’ll get around to it,” Bill shoots back hotly. “By the way, he murders his mentor when-”

“I already read that part,” Pine Tree says, turning another page. “So much for being omniscient.” He’s actually smiling now, and Bill feels himself physically warm up. Pine Tree does as well, by the way his hand reaches up and pats Bill on his back, teeth showing as his smile widens. Bill enjoys it, and it’s the _worst_ , this human just _insulted_ him and he’s not burning the fat off his bones for doing it.

Bill lets his hands flare briefly with blue fire, but Pine Tree’s attention is already back on his book. He’s not even scared. Bill can sense it. He noticed the flames, briefly, but he’s still completely absorbed in some terrible narrative about wizards.

He’s been watching this mortal for years, and now that he’s here, _right next_ to the pitiful little meatsack, he can’t get any of the fear and respect he deserves.

That’s it. Bill can’t take it anymore.

The book in Pine Tree’s hands explodes, and he yelps and throws the burning paper off the rooftop, shoving himself away from where he was sitting. Bill stays hovering where his human’s shoulder was and laughs, loud.

Pine Tree staggers, clutching at his chest, breath rapid, but quickly slowing as he calms down. Then he glares at Bill, and the demon feels himself stop glowing the moment the familiar expression crosses the mortal’s face.

Even that didn’t work. Dipper Pines looks angry, sure, and disappointed, but even as Bill watches, his mortal stares over the edge of the roof at the burning book, then sighs and shrugs. He just made a _bomb_ out of his _book_ , and this mortal dismisses it, like it’s nothing. Pine Tree brushes some ash and sparks off his shirt, giving Bill another disapproving look.

“I was reading that. Seriously, what the hell,” says Pine Tree, stretching and turning to head back into the Shack. “Luckily I have another copy. Try not to explode that one too, alright?”

Bill turns bright red, eye narrowing, and he extends an arm to yank the mortal back by his shirt. Pine Tree stumbles towards him, eyes wide and startled. He looks up at Bill, and his expression turns from annoyance to something deliciously filled with trepidation.

 _That_ is what Bill has been looking for. He brightens back to yellow, eye curving up in amusement. Every time he thinks about ending this mortal’s pitiful life, he shows a little bit of something that Bill can’t help but be interested in.

“Now that’s what I’m talking about. Is it really so hard, kid? I shouldn’t need to blow things up to get you to look at me,” Bill says, letting the mortal go and gleaming with pleasure. “You’re in the presence of the most powerful demon in the universe. A little devotion is the least you can spare.”

Pine Tree's eyes roll in his skull, and he straightens up. "Alright, alright, you're just a little small for it right now," He makes a short, commanding gesture upwards, and Bill sulks for just a moment, then expands his form to be large enough for what Pine Tree has in mind. The human smiles - it it were any closer to a smirk Bill would burn his face off and replace it with someone elses' - and pulls him in for a body press, arms wrapped around him. Bill closes his eye.

They've done this, what, five or six times? Bill's not sure whether to count the one time when only one of his human's arms crossed over his sides. Call it five and a half. This body-contact-squeeze thing is unfamiliar territory, and as someone with immense knowledge, he's absolutely got to know everything about it. It tamps down on his urges to burn things, and ramps up his instinct to devour, though since his human is solid flesh instead of pure energy, Bill's held out on that impulse so far. This could probably be weaponized, as soon as someone _amazingly_ clever learns its secrets. And he will, because when Bill needs to learn more from Pine Tree, it's stupidly easy to manipulate him into it. It's like he isn't worried about Bill learning anything from this. 

Pine Tree's a moron, and Bill's more than happy to keep him that way.

The moron in question pulls away and stretches, lips pressed together in restraint, like Bill isn't able to tell how amused Pine Tree is just through reading his thoughts. "I'm gonna get the other book now," The human adds, jabbing a thumb back towards the indoors. "There's only, like, three hundred pages left anyway." The dark circles under Pine Tree's eyes aren't as bad as usual, but Bill knows by the time he's finished his book, it'll be morning, and the human won't have slept at all. _Or_ appreciated how honored he should be to have Bill Cipher around his fragile mortal self, and still be alive.

Insulted, Bill jabs him in the ribs. "Oh hell no, kid. You think I spend this much time around you just for fun?" He does, but Pine Tree doesn't need to know that. "I deserve more than that for putting up with your simple mind trying to process the most basic plot in all of human literature. _Especially_ when you pay no attention me for two hours." Truly, his generosity is unappreciated. Pine Tree acts like Bill hasn't pointed him in the direction of mysteries, letting Pine Tree nearly get himself killed doing what he loves, or even thoughtfully left body parts with useful magical qualities around the Shack . 

Most importantly, Bill will _not_ be ignored.

Pine Tree stares at him. “Oh my god,” He says softly, then rests his face in his hands. Bill looks away and pretends like he isn’t paying attention, though he sees the way Pine Tree’s cheeks tint pink. “I guess I knew this was coming,” He says, muffled slightly by his own palms. “I _thought_ you might- I mean, I'm okay with it- more than okay, really, but you know this is weird-" He scrunches his face up, breathing out sharply. "Sorry, this is awkward.”

“No idea what you’re going on about,” Bill responds, shrugging and closing his eye. He starts slightly as one of Pine Tree’s hands claps itself around one of his sides, turning him to face the mortal. Bill waves at him. “Hey there.”

Pine Tree swallows and stares for a moment, hesitating. Then he leans in.

Human lips are really soft, Bill thinks to himself, just before his eye widens and he darts back, away from this _clearly insane_ mortal. He isn’t even crazy in a fun way! He randomly assaults a demon with his _face_. Is Pine Tree trying to get himself killed? Bill flickers between a gold glow and random images. He can still sense the press of Pine Tree’s mouth against his side, just below and to the left of his eye. It tingles with bits of the human’s aura. Bill feels oddly warmed, and more than a little discomfited.

It takes a second for Bill to fully process what's happened, as the last lingering bits of Pine Tree's energy dissolves into him. His eye shoots open wide. Pine Tree blinks in confusion, and reaches for Bill again. And for one horrible instant, Bill is tempted to float in closer, just to feel that weird flesh-press again, taking in bits of his human’s magic through the contact. It’s not like Bill would- He doesn't, anyway, demons _shouldn't have_ -

Instead, Bill laughs derisively out of sheer discomfort, drifting away from the human’s grasp, and it makes Pine Tree flinch back, turning his head away and shutting his eyes. His face tenses up in a way that makes Bill feel… gross inside, and sort of- itchy? Like there’s something he needs to do, but he can’t figure out what it is.

More worryingly, he also can't figure how to get the sensation to go away. Bill senses thoughts all the time, it's what he does, it's what he's for. He sheds off other's emotions easier than a snake sheds skin, but he keeps trying it with this one and it's _sticking_ to him, no matter how fast he pushes out power. 

“You've had a lot of weird ideas, kid,” Bill says brightly, though his energy roils inside him, resonating with his discomfort. Pine Tree turns red - he does all it the time, especially when Bill's around, but for some reason this time it's not interesting, it's _awful_. This doesn’t feel fun _at all_ , it's bubbly and sick, he wants it to stop, and it's _not stopping _. Already the air around Bill is slightly tinged with blue with his own magic.__

Bill crosses his arms and keeps talking, partly to distract himself. “But as far as weird goes, this sure takes the cake! Guess we don’t have anything else to discuss. I think-" He thinks that he needs to leave. Bill's never been kidding about being powerful, and the energy in him is shifting around violently enough that it's going to start affecting reality soon, and for the first time in millennia he doesn't want bits of his essence to manifest. Not now.

"I think that enough's enough. I get you now, and you know what? You're not really worth my time.” Bill finishes. Every moment in this mortal’s presence is making him feel dizzy, and the urge to stay and do... _something_ is starting to make him ache with restrained power. He needs to _leave_.

The look Pine Tree gives him after he speaks is so broken and open that Bill shrinks without intending to. He glances away, and without another word, vanishes into the Mindscape.

So! Back to the regular schedule. No regrets. No more Pine Tree. 

Bill shuts down his sudden urge to look into that human's life as hard as he can, slamming a mental shutter down between himself and- a mortal. He focuses on nightmares. That fleshbag's not going to cause him any trouble, probably, and even if he does, it’s not worth concentrating so much attention on one human. This has clearly been a huge, stupid distraction, and he’s not going to let himself repeat it, so Bill keeps his focus on his work. Nothing else.

But even though he keeps his attention away, he can’t stop feeling this horrible _itching_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! If you have any thoughts on this, let me know!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bill, why are you so weird.

Pain is amazing, no question about it. Sure, people with bodies hate the stuff, but that’s just instinct - they want to preserve their short lives for as long as they can, so anything that hurts is something to fear. 

Bill, though, is an immortal dream demon, and doesn’t have to worry for even a sec about being killed. So when something _actually_ hurts him, he rushes headlong towards it, because that’s worth checking out. (Mind you, if it does end up a threat, he’ll burn it to ashes, but the last of those was centuries ago. And destroying his enemies is even better than the hurting, so it’s double the fun! _Man_ , he misses the Middle Ages.)

 _This_ feeling is different.

Bill curses quietly in the Mindscape, setting himself on fire. It helps when he burns off some energy, but he’s reluctant to do it, he’s only made of the stuff.

This isn’t pain. This is _itching_ , chaos almighty, if it hadn’t been so great at the time he’d never have possessed that mortal’s body. This is one feeling he’d be happier without.

It isn’t like he needs to rub at his surface (he doesn’t have skin, not even in a jar somewhere) It’s more like a constant, unceasing reminder that there’s something he needs to take care of. Bill hates leaving around loose ends, and this feels like he left the last trailing piece of a plan unfinished, and unlike a victim who manages to escape, it’s _not going to die_.

Nothing he’s seen explains it, nothing he does eliminates it, and if he doesn’t get rid of it soon he’s going to go _sane_ with irritation. Correlation and causation aren’t the same thing, but Bill’s not a moron, and this sensation has only centered around one specific human. Who isn’t worth his time.

If what he needs is to destroy the mortal, Bill will get around to it. Eventually. There's probably a more convenient solution somewhere, he's... just working on it, that's all.

Bill’s checked in on countless fleshbags in the last few months, observed their lives, and _not even interfered_ , embarrassing as it is to admit. Absolutely none of them gave him any insight. There aren’t a lot of things Bill doesn’t know, and he hasn’t found the answer after three months of this biz, which has never happened.

He tears some of his own bricks off in frustration as the feeling rises again, scattering them, and throws one off into the Mindscape, furious. Then he reconstructs himself, and it _still_ doesn’t help. This is _infuriating_.

Enough is enough. Meatsacks only have a limited amount of time in this world, so if he’s right - and another first, he hopes he’s _not_ , wow - he needs to confront this suspicion. No time like the present.

The part of the Mindscape that belongs to one member of the Pines family has been locked off for a while, and Bill has no intention of opening it. Behind the metaphorical steel doors and barbed wire lies a mind he isn’t going to touch. He drags his gaze along it as he floats by.

Bill shakes himself and pulls his attention away, then rolls his eye and drifts towards the mind he’s looking for. Shooting Star got involved at the start of this mess, and she knows the other human really well. She even claims to be an expert on ‘feelings’.

And if her mind doesn’t have the solution? Bill will burn it to the ground. He’s bored anyway, that’ll at least be a distraction.

He slips into her dreams without any effort. He’s immediately assaulted by something disgusting, and recoils, almost leaving the dream entirely.

Mabel Pines and her twin are sitting on the rooftop, smiling and chatting about nothing in particular. It’s irritatingly familial, and as he watches Mabel slaps her sibling on the back, hard enough to make him cough out a breath.

Bill clutches at both of his sides near his eye, energy boiling inside him, and it takes almost no effort for Shooting Star’s brother to suddenly scream, bursting into flames and crumbling away into ash within moments. Bill relaxes, letting his arms drop even as Shooting Star starts screaming. That’s a lot better. Destroying even a dream image of his- that mortal felt really satisfying.

It hasn’t helped at all with his problem, though. If anything, it’s made things _worse_.

Shooting Star starts panting, clutching at her chest and looking around. She spots Bill, eyes wide and panicked-

And the dream shifts hard into lucidity, surprising even Bill with the sudden drop. It’s neat, kind of like falling into the void forever! She has a better grip on her mind than Bill would have initially thought. He barely has time to drift closer and wave, before Shooting Star charges across the rooftop, draws her arm back, and slaps him silly.

Bill spins in place in the air like a top, blinking in confusion. He hasn’t messed with the Pines family in months, and while he can feel her rage, he hasn’t done anything to infuriate her recently.

He stops mid-spin, watching Shooting Star pant and glare with righteous fury. Considering what he’s done since he last saw her - it takes him a minute, as he thinks about what she cares about, then he snaps his fingers in realization.

She’s mad about something he’s done to her brother. Obviously. Which is ridiculous, since Bill stopped messing with that human, along with every other Pines. She should be _thrilled_.

Bill knows that the blood strewn over the Shack bothered her, that seeing the other mortal storm back upstairs after being on fire made her worry. The dead animals in the yard made her cry once! Bill even left her brother’s mind _intact_ when he left, and he didn’t _have_ to do that. All in all, she’s benefited from this, so this anger comes out of nowhere.

Humans, really. So irrational.

Bill readjusts his tie. “Yeesh, you’d think I offended you or something. Not like you haven’t had worse nightmares about stuff happening to your twin,” Bill knows, he’s seen them. This death was cheap amateur business, but hey, he’s in a hurry. The quicker this ends, the closer he is to fixing this issue.

He tips his hat to Shooting Star briefly, rolling his eye at her fury. He pokes her under the jaw, shutting her mouth before she can speak, and continues. “Just came to talk, nothing ‘malicious’ for the moment.” He puts finger quotes around the word. Humans like to pretend morality exists, and that intent matters, but Bill knows better.

Shooting Star simply glares, takes a deep breath, preparing to shout- and stops. Her eyes widen suddenly as she glances over him, then her face makes this sort of… scrunched up, confused shape. Neat, this should be good.

“Uh, Bill? Are you okay?” She looks worried.

What.

“Doing just peachy, Shooting Star. You can’t see it with your limited mind, but the nightmare and existential crisis business is really booming these days! You wanna know what I’ve been up to?”

“You’ve got a feelings problem, and I know what you gotta do.” She says flatly. 

Now this is just confusing. She shouldn’t have known why he was here at _all_. The omniscient thing is usually Bill’s shtick.

“Well, well, I come here to chat and you get psychic on me. I like it,” Bill squints at her, tilting himself slightly to the side. This isn’t the way he expected this conversation to go, especially after the way she greeted him. Her tone is disgustingly sticky and sentimental and insulting. But apparently, he’s found his feelings expert. “So, if you wanna tell me something, spill, ‘cause I’m listening.”

Shooting Star sighs, then rests her chin in her hand and looks at Bill critically. "Do you even have emotions, Bill? I mean, usually, not just because of this situation." She waves her hand vaguely in the direction of the pile of ash that was her dream brother, as if that's supposed to make her meaning clearer.

“Dumb question, I feel things all the time,” He's seen the full range of human experience and even further beyond. He has emotions, and he _also_ knows it's a way better set than humans have. He counts a list off on his fingers.”You’ve got your revenge, joy, anger, janger, bissonomy,” New fingers pop up on his hand as he lists them off, “hatred, lactose intolerance-”

As Bill lists his perfectly reasonable emotional range, Shooting Star looks increasingly perplexed, until she finally interrupts him. "Okay, but... what about, like... caring about someone? Wanting to hug them?" She claps her hands to her cheeks. "Feeling bad when they get hurt?

Bill stares at her. Weird questions. What's wrong with pain? And anyway - "Bad isn't even a realistic _concept_ , much less a real feeling."

That's the final straw for his expert, and Shooting Star drops her face briefly into her cupped palms, then straightens up, looking determined. “You don’t need to talk to me. You need to see Dipper,” Mabel Pines says, with absolute authority. Her certainty is like steel in her mind, unbending. Bill glares at her.

Shooting Star glares back. “Listen, I saw the way you two got along, and I know what’s up. You’re just a dumb butt who can’t handle his own feelings. Like, ever!” She waves her hands in the air, frustrated. She looks at Bill again, off to one of his sides, and frowns. “I thought you were supposed to be smart.”

That’s it. Bill can roll with insults, sure, but this is going to a weird place even for him. He’s going to stop this, right now. “Don’t be an idiot, Shooting Star, do you even know what you’re angling for? Do you have any idea what I have planned? You’re actually _asking_ me to-” He cuts himself off, resisting the urge to set her on fire as well. Time to remind this mortal of what he’s really capable of. “Your family is better off without me torturing everyone-”

He doesn’t get to go into the atrocities, the nightmares, the absolute torments he has planned, because seven words into his sentence Shooting Star’s lower lip trembles, then her eyes start to water weirdly, and she literally _leaps_ at him to pull him into a body press before Bill can escape.

This is not _at all_ like the ones he’s had with- Anyway, he wasn’t wrapped in yarn, which is far too soft and comfortable and just, _ugh_ , dripping with sentimental feelings, including some about that pig. Bill instantly regrets bringing it back. Her sweater chafes at him with its gentle, emotional softness. Mabel Pines’ mind is far more chaotic than the other twin’s, but it’s also sugar-sweet. If he had any teeth on him at the moment, they’d rot.

Sure, it’s not _bad_ , but… right now she’s oozing sentimentality, and Bill’s never been fond of that. Mabel Pines rubs her cheek against one of his sides, thoughts running fast through various fictional scenarios where everything in the world works out okay, and there are family parties, and group hugs-

Bill cringes in her grip. Not the worst mind he’s ever touched, but _definitely_ not his type.

More importantly, this brain has enough similarities to the real deal, the mind that he’s been oddly fascinated with- It makes the itching even worse. It’s building up to a kind of burn inside him that has nothing to do with fire. Bill loves fire, he’d set himself on fire an instant, but - hell, he’ll call it what it is - this stupid _hug_ isn’t helping.

It’s like a morsel of life when he needs to drain an entire army dry. It’s a drop of liquor to a human dying of thirst. It’s close, but it’s not _right_ and it’s not _enough_.

“Okay!” Bill declares, shoving Shooting Star away urgently. She blinks at him, eyes still a little watery but bright, and opens her mouth to speak. Bill immediately slaps his hand over her speaking hole. He doesn’t want to hear it, it’s going to be disgustingly emotional.

“You’ve convinced me! It’s been a while since I’ve tortured my favorite meatsack anyway. Thank me when your brother spends the rest of his life screaming,” He shrugs and tips his hat again. “See you never.”

She smiles slightly, the most bizarre reaction Bill has ever seen to a threat. Bill gives her another glare just before he yanks himself out of her mind with a vengeance. It leaves her dream in a jumble, ideas scattering everywhere. She’ll be confused as hell when she wakes up, but hey, whatever. Her mind’s still intact. Call it a consulting fee.

Bill meanders in the Mindscape for a few hours, watching the dreams around him idly, before he gives in. According to his consultant’s advice, there’s another visit he needs to make.

Space is irrelevant in the Mindscape, but Bill still takes his time heading towards his barricade. It’s not constructed like most barriers in the mind - there are more than a few mortals who want to keep him out, but those constructions are laughable. Most minds setting up protection against Bill end up with something about as useful as a wet paper towel is against a bullet.

Bill’s barrier is the only completely impenetrable wall in the Mindscape. Nothing’s getting past this baby, not even the kid. He’s stronger than he looks, for a human, and he isn’t entirely stupid, so Bill threw a lot of power into this construction.

It’s clear to him now what happened. Somewhere along the way he got way too close to a mortal - _his_ mortal - and now he knows this feeling is going to bother him until their business is settled or the kid is dead. He hasn’t decided which one he’s going to go with yet.

Bill sighs, starts to push the doors open, and pauses. He hadn’t seen it before, not behind his own amazing work. Something _tantalizing_. He pulls in some of its energy, tasting it.

In the last month or so, Pine Tree has set his own defenses up. Bill’s surprised. They’re stronger than most, but more unusual is the shape of them -

Chaos help him, Bill finds himself feeling warm, and curious, and he dissolves his part of the barrier in moments, not caring how much power it costs him to wreck his own work. He darts around the metaphysical strings that make up his human’s (small, adorable) protections. Bill’s the only one who knows how to make this kind of barrier, and this isn’t his work. It’s Pine Tree’s magic, Bill can _taste_ it.

He brushes a hand against it gently, and feels both the drumming of the kid’s heart and the absolute determination it was built from. To make this, the kid would have to either learn something no human has ever written down, or check the Mindscape and see Bill’s work, then _comprehend_ Bill’s work, which means-

He closes his eye and draws both his hands down his front, glowing with pleasure. This. Fucking. Human. It’s almost a shame that he’ll eventually die.

Curious, Bill pets the little barrier, feeling it buzz and rage against the contact. But it doesn’t banish him, or even hurt (though that would be fun). It’s both too weak and too similar to his own magic to be a threat.

This childish scribbling of power is terrible, though, Pine Tree’s enchanting could really stand to improve. Still, it resonates with Bill, shuddering pleasantly through his being, and it’s powered by Pine Tree’s magic, so each little shiver is so _thrilling_.

Shaking himself, Bill jerks his hand away, wiping it on one of his sides and feeling the warm buzz of his human’s magic soak into him slowly.

He spends more time than he intends looking over the mental wall. It’s tiny, but solid as hell. It would absolutely wreck the shit of lesser demons, and even some greater ones if they didn’t know what they were handling. Most wouldn’t, they’re idiots. He beams. The working is clumsy, and amateur, and still better than every other mortal’s that Bill has seen. For a moment he’s even tempted to point a few other mental monsters in this direction, just to see them fizzle on the defenses like insects in a bugzapper.

Since the kid’s wards are so similar to his own stuff (Bill feels another pleasant tingle at the thought) it’s simple enough to do the metaphysical equivalent of hopping a fence. The wards behind him buzz faintly in annoyance as he drifts into his human’s mind.

Honestly, Bill’s finding it difficult to remember why he ever left. There’s always something interesting here, or challenging, or defiant. Man, Bill loves the defiance. That’s one thing this human has never been lacking in. It’s part of what made him interesting in the first place.

The chambers of this mind are covered in pages upon pages of writing, some drifting freely through the air, others posted up on boards. Some images flicker around, little clips of grainy video. Bill floats through this mind almost lazily, taking in the sights.Some of the posted pages are connected with strings of different colors, making them a webwork of twine and yarn. He follows a few threads out of sheer curiosity, chuckling to himself. The kid’s just so wrong about most of this stuff, it’s hilarious.

When Bill follows a yellow thread halfway down its path, he starts seeing odd flickers of himself. Bill perks up, and uses their eyes to expand his view of the kid’s mind immensely. Every little thought this mortal’s ever had about him is open to-

Bill stops looking. That gross-bubbly-hurt feeling is coming back.

Best to head straight towards his goal. Hey, he can always come back later! With the protections his mortal’s using, it’s not like the kid can ever keep Bill out of his head. He glows at the thought.

Luckily enough, his human is dreaming. Pine Tree wanders through the forest of Gravity Falls, flipping through a Journal. Bill drifts closer lazily, staying a ways behind, content to watch his mortal. Only a small tremble of _that_ feeling bothers him, way less than usual.

It’s only been a few months, objectively, since Bill’s been this relaxed. Subjectively, it’s felt like an eon. Bill floats silently behind this absurd human, tracking each motion he makes, and he feels amazingly, purely amoral again.

Dipper Pines’ steps slow, and he pauses on the trail, frowning. He bends over, and picks something up.

A jolt runs through Bill, and his eye widens. _This_ is what he’s wanted, he can feel Pine Tree intimately, but-

His human straightens up, frowning, running a thumb over the thing in his palm. Resting in Pine Tree’s hand is a single, small gold brick. Bill starts and looks down at himself, waving an arm through the gap where a piece of him is missing.

This isn’t supposed to happen. Bill regenerates easily enough, he thought he had all his parts. How the hell did it wind up here? He did throw a piece away, but he rebuilt, how did it not come back when-

Slapping himself, Bill curses softly. The _ward_. Thwarted by his own handiwork, that’s ironic. And the only way that it could have ended up _here_ is if he was still drawn to this idiot. It makes no _sense_.

He feels Pine Tree’s hand clasp around the part of him, and shudders. Warm flesh curls around him, the beat of his human’s heart pulses through him. He can feel the curiosity, the warmth, the vaguest trace of his human’s thoughts. Pine Tree’s thumb runs slowly over his surface. Pine Tree's skin is soft and full of life, his blood thrums through his flesh, and this feels really- It’s good, _amazingly_ good, and Bill closes his eye as his human’s hand rubs over the piece of Bill's essence.

Then Bill’s human pauses, not caressing him, which is _completely unacceptable_. Pine Tree stares at the piece of Bill in his hand for a long moment. 

And it gets shoved into his pocket, just like Pine Tree did with Bill not that long ago. It’s frustrating as hell, to feel something that entertaining, and now just being surrounded by denim.

Bill sighs and crosses his arms. Don’t get him wrong, he loves the kid, but Pine Tree really needs to find a better way to deal with Bill than just stuffing him into his pants.

Wait, what. 

Bill freezes in place, watching Pine Tree travel down the forest path. 

This can’t be right. But the urge to get closer throbs inside him. To touch his human would be the _best_ , Bill could-

Oh no.

Oh, _fuck._

The dream he’s in trembles, and Bill holds back his power, not wanting to (oh chaos, he _doesn’t want to!_ This is the _worst_ ) break the kids’ mind. 

On the plus side, Bill now knows what being on the receiving end of a horrible revelation is like, they’re _awful_ , it’s amazing. He’s going to cause them more often. Mortals don’t question the inherent absurdity of existence enough anyway. 

The scenery dissolves as Pine Tree wanders away, and the environment around him no longer needs to be imagined. Bill floats in the grey place between a mind and its dreams, and struggles with himself. This shouldn’t be happening. _This is weird._

After a minute or two, he shrugs. 

Welp, this has already happened, Bill loves weirdness, and this is a way to cause pain to both Pine Tree _and_ himself! 

Bill looks on the bright side of things. He chuckles, thinking of how he'll test his mortal to make sure he’s worth it, and how fun it’s going to be simultaneously winning Pine Tree’s favor and freaking him the hell out. Bill knows his way around human minds if he knows anything at all; skirting the line between courtship and torment is going to be entertaining as hell. He’s going to push this mortal to the _brink_. 

And if Pine Tree wasn’t tough enough to handle Bill's courting, well, Bill never would’ve been interested in the first place. 

Right now, he's got some planning to do. 


	5. Chapter 5

There’s a drawing of Bill on almost everything Dipper writes down. Whether it’s in his notebooks, or on the paranoid pages he sticks up on corkboard, Dipper compulsively sketches little eyed triangles on everything. Of course Bill’s never going to tell him what pictures of himself let him do. As long as Pine Tree has this habit, Bill gets a front seat to all the action.

When Pine Tree wakes up to see Bill’s message written on the ceiling above him in blood, Bill watches through a sketch on a nearby scrap of paper, and clasps his hands together.

Pine Tree blinks slowly, then freezes where he lies, looking up at the words scrawled above him. They read,

I CAN SEE INTO THE INFINITE DEPTHS OF YOUR SOUL

And, in smaller capital letters,

THEY’RE OKAY I GUESS

It’s the most romantic thing Bill has ever written. He watches, waiting for the reaction.

Pine Tree immediately and violently dismisses it, shoving himself out of bed and storming away. He doesn’t even go for the shower first, he heads straight for cleaning supplies and a rag, not bothering to dress himself.

The courting could be off to a better start, Bill admits, as he watches Pine Tree scrub away his words - it’s not the first time Pine Tree has had to do this, but he’s definitely more eager to be rid of the writing than usual. Bill’s pretty sure he isn’t going to get a response written on the mist in the bathroom mirror, which is disappointing.

He’s right, of course, but it’s even more disappointing when he sees Pine Tree purposefully walk past the mirror, never making eye contact with it, not even to shave. He’s _intentionally_ ignoring Bill.

The next day, Pine Tree wakes up to a new message. Bill’s almost embarrassed at this one.

HEY PINE TREE  
I’M STILL AROUND  
I'M NEVER LEAVING

Bill trembles in anticipation of his human’s reaction, he almost feels _vulnerable_. But this message only gets glanced at. Pine Tree doesn’t even bother to clean up the blood. He leaves it on the ceiling, and keeps his eyes towards the floor whenever he enters the room.

Okay. Well.

Looks like Pine Tree’s carrying a grudge. Bill’s not thrilled, but he can respect it. It’s not like he hasn’t held grudges before. Pine Tree feels - on some level - betrayed, and he’s never been one to forgive easily. So Bill said some things! This is still an extreme reaction. Bill doesn’t understand why this is happening. Pine Tree was dumb for trusting him in the first place. Or ever. Who does he think Bill _is_? What did he expect?

So their first little spat as a couple hasn’t gone well. It happens! But apparently his human is grumpy, and if Bill wants to get closer, he’s got to take care of this.

Another day, another message. Pine Tree keeps his eyes shut completely as he wakes up, missing Bill’s writing entirely as he staggers to the bathroom. His face is growing way more hair than it should, but he still won’t look at the ceiling, or in the mirror.

It’s a shame. This is Bill’s best one yet.

YOU’RE GOING TO DIE  
MAYBE NOT NOW BUT REAL SOON  
SO DON’T IGNORE ME

Pine Tree never even sees it. Bill fumes and paces around. It was even a haiku! Literal _poetry_. Shooting Star wanders in at one point, and glances upward. She makes a face, and immediately sighs and heads to get something to take care of the blood. Everyone’s a critic.

Fine, romantic letters aren’t working. Bill wasn’t planning on going too fast, but his human seems to have a way of foiling his plans.

He’s disappointed, sure, but excited at the same time. A successful plan is great. A thwarted plan is interesting. A plan that Bill has to adjust on the fly for it to work? That is something far more entertaining. This is a game, and for once the rules aren’t entirely clear. Even Bill can’t see what lies in their future, it’s fascinating.

Part of him hopes for Pine Tree to confront him, to argue with him, to _rage_ at him, and another part demands devotion, and a third, extra-extra dimensional part wants- 

Well. Human genders are weird, but they’ll figure that out when they get to it. Bill’s not short on ideas.

First, he needs to get his mortal’s attention again. Clearly, he needs to escalate. 

Bill's next attempts are... well, they're something.

The Thorned Darkness roses consume over half of Dipper’s bed and two pairs of his socks, until he manages to find an incantation to banish them. Also, it turns out the kid’s allergic, so scratch the plantlife tactic. 

The songbirds Bill manipulates during one of Dipper's walks through the woods make his human smile, just briefly. Then his face drops as he notices each one is quietly whistling ‘no escape’, over, and over, and over. Pine Tree books it so fast he has to hold his hat on with one hand.

Okay, time for something different. Typical human romance isn't working. But Pine Tree loves mysteries... and monster hunting. That thought gets considered, and, hm, hey, why not? Bill knows a few weaklings up for a fight. He’ll throw the kid a softball for this one, he’s not allowed to die yet.

It seems like an unsafe bet, and as it turns out, it is! 

Bill watches as Pine Tree wipes blood off his face, leaning against a tree in dim evening light, panting and sweating. It’s the best thing Bill’s seen in a long while. He lingers around in the aftermath, beaming at the corpses and admiring his mortal. Dipper Pines leans his head back, skull thunking softly against the bark of the tree, and breathes out a long, unsteady breath before sinking down to sit on the ground. His face is pink with exertion, and the remnants of his fear drift through the air. Bill hovers in place, watching. 

Eventually his human collects himself, staggering back home. Looks like the fun's over, but it was great while it lasted.

Laughing, Bill glows happily, and leaves the kid to his own devices for a few days, he's gotta heal before this can continue. Humans in pain aren't likely to accept more advances. He pauses to think about it, and his amusement fades rapidly.

Courting is proving more difficult than he had anticipated.

When he checks in again later, turns out it’s gotten more complicated. The _immensely_ romantic things Bill has wooed Pine Tree with have apparently caused him to avoid sleep like it’s the plague. The kid only rests in brief snatches, five, maybe ten minutes at a time. He also chugs coffee like he’ll never get another cup in his life. Bill starts to hate the very concept of coffee. It was already offensive - but this time it’s _personal_.

Dipper is avoiding Bill as hard as humanly possible, and that’s just not going to fly. Now that he knows how he feels about this human, Bill is _not_ going to let him pretend they haven’t been at least a little involved. The problem is, while Bill had been… sorting things out, okay, sometimes even immortal all-powerful beings need a little time - his mortal has changed his mind for some reason.

There’s no choice. Things aren’t going his way. He has a backup plan, but for it to work he needs to catch the kid in one of the brief windows where he’s actually asleep, which means- Oh hell. Bill already knows he’s going to do it.

For the first time in centuries, Bill takes a night off.

He almost cringes, thinking of all the dreamers who are going to have a good night’s sleep, but he’s choosing to bother this one human over all others, and if _that_ isn’t flattering enough for Dipper Pines, he’s going to-

He’s going to-

Bill slaps himself and closes his eye, sighing. He can’t even come up with a serious threat against the kid. If only he’d caught this earlier. Maybe then he could have stopped this infection before it spread too far. Now the only way out of this is through, and it’s going to be messy, and horrible, and _ugh_ , Bill hates how much he likes this.

Unfortunately, Dipper keeps blinking his eyes open just as Bill thinks he’ll be able to drag him into the Mindscape. It’s annoying, feeling the edges of his human’s consciousness slip slightly into his realm, then having it snatched away before he can get a good grip. Bill taps a finger against himself, waiting for his chance, hovering a pace away from reality and concentrating his attention on it fully, in case he misses a chance to snag his human into the Mindscape. 

He’s not thrilled with what he sees, either. It’s almost - what’s the word? Sad?

Pine Tree stares at a bowl of cereal, not even seeing it through his own exhaustion, but he _won’t pass out_. His sister pokes him in the cheek with her spoon, looking at him worriedly. It makes her brother look up, but it’s slow, and he’s barely responsive.

Bill covers his eye with his hands. For chaos’ sake, when a human doesn’t even have the energy to be startled, fall _unconscious_ already. Though... judging by the look on Mabel’s face, he might have an ally here. Shooting Star looks about as upset as Bill would be, if that emotion were at all real, or even relevant.

“Bro, you really need to take better care of yourself.” Mabel says, poking her twin in the cheek again. Her brow is furrowed, and she swallows a mouthful of cereal. “Are you doing okay?”

Pine Tree mumbles something incoherent, head dropping suddenly - Bill tenses with anticipation - then he shoves himself up and moves straight to the coffeepot.

 _Damn it._ Bill throws his hat down, furious. It was so _close_.

Whatever. Human endurance doesn’t last forever, and he’s got all day.

Dipper pours himself another cup of coffee, and Mabel stirs her spoon around in her bowl for a moment, then stops. “Is this about Bill?”

Now this is something Bill’s going to pay extra-close attention to. He watches Pine Tree’s back stiffen, and the coffee in his mug overflows as he’s pouring it, trickling over his fingers. He drops the mug with a startled yelp and sucks at his fingers, hissing in pain. Bill glows softly as he listens to the sounds of distress.

“What about Bill?” His human says. “You mean all the weird little stuff that’s been happening? Weird _er_ stuff.” He amends, after a moment’s thought.

He sounds dismissive. Bill glares. He won’t be talked about as if he’s some trivial threat. That insult is worth at least one nightmare. Maybe weeks of nightmares. Maybe _infinite_ -

“I saw him not that long ago, is all.” Mabel says promptly, staring at her brother. 

“Oh.” That’s all Pine Tree says. Bill blinks his eye rapidly. It’s only one syllable, but it’s tinted with something. He plays the sound back in his memory, trying to identify it.

“You know what he wants?” Mabel asks, and her brother shrinks into himself. That doesn’t stop her. “He didn’t exactly say, but I think-”

“If Bill’s responsible for anything, you _know_ it’s some kind of trick. I can handle this.” Pine Tree interrupts, carefully restrained anger in his voice.

Scratch the nightmares, if he had a physical body at the moment, he’d whack Pine Tree on the head with whatever was handy, just to knock him out. They’ve _got_ to talk. Bill has so much he wants to say, and brag about, and lie about, and maybe he’ll even listen to his human’s stupid voice talking to him about his mortal business. Dipper loves going on about his awful human existence. 

Bill hasn’t heard his mortal talking to him for quite a while.

His surface flickers through a series of pictures before he notices, and shuts it down.

Shooting Star stands up, going over to her sibling and pulling him into a hug. Pine Tree seems a little startled, then he sighs and relaxes - and almost collapses. He’s too exhausted to hold himself up properly. His sister steadies him, grunting a little with effort.

“I think it’ll be okay, really,” She says softly, squeezing her brother in her arms. Bill rolls his eye as he watches. “I don’t wanna see you run yourself into the ground.”

Pine Tree straightens up slightly, eyes narrowing. “You’re literally telling me it’s okay that a demon is hanging around.” He says, blandly.

“I am! I think he’s just being a dumb jerk.” Mabel pulls away slightly and smiles. “You can take on any monster, bro-bro, I believe in you. Everything’s going to be fine.”

Bill is _not_ dumb. He’s only letting that slide because Mabel’s doing him a solid here.

Pine Tree splutters, and makes a series of increasingly incredulous gestures, unable to even speak. Mabel smiles, and starts shoving her brother away from the table and towards the stairs. Bill stares at Shooting Star, then starts following these humans through the building. He completely understands what Pine Tree is feeling, incredulity and all. His sister is ridiculous.

Pine Tree, meanwhile, seems… slightly more cheerful? Bill glances over him. The kid looks better than he has in a while. Bill’s human grumbles something to himself, stomping off, and-

Bill brightens up. Dipper’s going to bed. To _sleep_.

_Finally._

The two of them have a lot to discuss, and the Mindscape’s the perfect place for it. It should only be a minute or two until Pine Tree's asleep, and then Bill’s got him right where he wants him.

Bill is going to steal Dipper Pines’ heart.

Romance is _easy._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bill sometimes takes things a little more literally than he should.


	6. Chapter 6

The second his mortal’s head hits the pillow, he’s out like a light. Bill savors the moment.

Dipper Pines’ body lies sprawled, fully dressed, on his bed, and though Bill’s going to pull him into the Mindscape momentarily, he takes a second to enjoy the fluttering beginnings of his human’s dreams. They flit around like wisps, none of them consolidating yet as they whirl around the mortal’s mind.

Bill watches the images flutter around for a long moment, and sighs. Pine Tree has the best thoughts, so full of questions and paranoia. This would almost look good, if he weren’t wrong about everything forever.

He lingers longer than he intends to, it’s just so neat to watch. But when the flickering bits of Pine Tree’s subconscious start to coalesce, Bill floats in closer, grabs one of the hands stretched out on the bed, and  _pulls_.

Dipper is yanked from his body, sitting up on the edge of his bed. He blinks slowly, eyes darting around, noticing the greyscale world around him. Not even a hint of surprise crosses his face.

His shoulders slump, and he looks up at Bill. His expression is deliberately neutral.

“Well?” Pine Tree asks. He sounds tired, even though he’s asleep.

Bill moves back a bit.

That’s  _it_? No threats? No panic? No ‘oh,  _Bill_ , you’re the  _best_ , I can’t believe you put so much effort into flirting with a puny worthless creature like me?’

“That all you gotta say, kid? How’dya like the things I sent ya?” Bill glimmers and points at his human. He knows Pine Tree’s made the connection between himself and his courting, and he wants to hear feedback. “I think they did their job pretty well.” He straightens his bowtie proudly. Who else is as powerful? Nobody, obviously - But who else would try to get his attention like this? (More than Bill would like, if they had ever felt Pine Tree's aura.)

The kind of effort he put in, there's no _way_ Pine Tree can resist him.

Pine Tree doesn’t react, staring at the floor. Bill’s glow immediately dims. “Sure, fine.” He mumbles, and turns away from Bill - he  _turns away_ , what is this mortal even  _doing_  - and drops onto his side on the bed, facing towards the wall.

Bill hesitates. Then he glares.

Apathy is _not_ something he’ll accept from this human. Fuck it, he’ll do what he came here to do. “You wanna know why I’ve been back lately, Pine Tree?”

Dipper grumbles quietly and ignores him, pulling the blankets up over himself.

BIll turns bright red with fury. This idiot should be thrilled to be  _alive_  in his presence, and  _this_  is all Bill gets? He laughs, though, loud and madly. It makes the kid’s back tense up. _Finally_ , a reaction.

“C'mon, kid, you're not entirely stupid. You’ve got something of mine.” He pokes at Pine Tree’s thigh, and the kid starts, eyes widening a little.

Pine Tree sits up and straightens, blankets falling away from his body. He pulls the thing from his pocket. It doesn’t exist in the real world, but Bill never retrieved it when his mortal picked it up in the Mindscape. He’s let it hang around for a while.

In his human’s hand lies a single gold brick.

For a brief second, Pine Tree actually frowns, then he forces his expression back to neutral and draws his hand back, ready to throw. “If you want this back, you can keep i-”  
  
Bill slaps his hand back down. “No, no, it’s fine! Keep it! Truth is,” Bill floats in close, and he glows with pleasure as his human starts looking nervous. “I’d rather take something of yours. It’s a fair trade!”  
  
Dipper has just enough time to realize what Bill means, eyes shooting open, before Bill’s hand plunges up under his ribcage, and into his chest.

Wow, it’s  _squishy_  in here.

A small puff of breath gets forced out from Dipper’s throat as Bill’s hand brushes against a lung. He makes a soft, gurgling noise, and a hand grasps one of Bill’s sides as he steadies himself, leaning forward. Bill hums softly to himself, rummaging around - jeez, it doesn’t help how the kid squirms while he’s working - and finally finds his target.

“Yoink!” Bill pulls, and within a moment he has his prize, clasped in both hands. Pine Tree lets go of him and makes a slow, soft sound, just a gentle outrush of breath, arms clasping around his stomach as blood trickles out onto the bedsheets.

Whatever, it’s the Mindscape. The kid’s been here before and can patch himself up. Bill’s lower eyelid turns up as he admires his new toy. It’s so bouncy, he loves it.

Dipper Pines’ heart is beating fast, almost rolling out of Bill’s grip until he draws it close with both arms, clasping it to his front. Blood still pulses out of it, sliding over his surface, down his sides, and dripping off his corners. It’s beating way faster than normal, and the slick blood makes it hard to hold onto. What a lively little scamp.

Bill’s gonna keep it forever.

In the few seconds Bill takes to get a grip on the heart, Pine Tree has already sealed up his wound, and he turns on Bill, absolutely irate.

Bill brightens up again. He can sense the rage in his human, and the heart keeps pounding on in a beat that thrills him.   
  
“What the  _fuck_. Why did you-” Pine Tree shouts at him, furious. The absolute anger in his human reverberates through Bill, radiating out through the chunk of the essence Bill’s stolen. It’s so  _good_ , this is part of what he’s  _wanted_ , it makes Bill sigh with pleasure. He’d steal the kid’s physical heart, but he needs to make a pretty complicated construction to replace it. That can wait for later. Dipper is so angry that he struggles to speak, and it sends waves of heat through Bill, washing around his own energy. He squishes the heart against himself, and listens.

“You know, I thought I wasn’t worth your time, right? So what’s with this? If you want someone to entertain you, I’m not going to be it. And I’m not going to fall for any of your tricks, either,” He clenches his fists and waits.

Then he hesitates, just a little, when Bill says nothing. It only makes the kid more frustrated, it’s so entertaining.

“What’s your plan here?” Pine Tree runs a hand through his hair in frustration. Bill ignores him. See how  _Pine Tree_  likes this kind of treatment. Being ignored is the worst. 

Bill waits a little longer, and it’s surprisingly effective. His human makes a strangled curse, and keeps talking. “What do you want with this? Are you going to make me do something?” He waits for Bill’s reply, holding his hands out imploringly.

Then he frowns, touching his chest and looking around himself, as if he expects something to jump out at him, or to be compelled into action. Bill hugs his new acquisition and it makes Pine Tree jump. He glares at Bill harder. 

Dipper pulls at his hair, curling into himself. The silence is getting to him, and Bill doesn’t give a damn. Dipper's anger is breaking into pieces, overwhelmed by confusion. “Damn it, Bill, there are so many humans in the world, why the hell do you keep messing with  _me_?”

Then he pauses, brows furrowing. He knows how odd it is for Bill to be quiet, and he’s catching on to what’s up. But frankly? Bill doesn’t give a shit. This new prize is too intriguing to pay attention to some mortal’s anger, or to mislead him, he’s got something better to play with. (Though how  _lovely_ it is, feeling his human’s rage thrum through him.) Bill hovers in place, and Pine Tree hesitates.

Dipper stops being angry, starts staring at him, and Bill clenches his new toy closer, listening to his human’s thoughts race.

This is probably the most fun part of dealing with the kid. When the solution is relatively obvious, he can figure it out. Might take him a while, but part of the fun is watching him be horribly wrong, right up until he isn’t. His heartbeat is slowing, so Bill balances the organ in one hand, turning it this way and that to admire it. The arteries and veins tore off a little roughly, but the way they droop off the top is almost charming. It has a wonderful two-part rhythm that Bill finds far more pleasant than any human music. Now, the question is how long will it take for-

A ping of realization shoots through his human, and sends a pleasant jolt through Bill. He shudders a little at the feeling. Huh, faster than he thought.

Bill waves at his human happily. It's about _time_. Bill's done being so demonstrative. Pine Tree needs to learn to be more empathetic, if he wants this to work. 

Dipper gives him a look that is so. Absolutely.  _Done_. And flips Bill off.

 _Finally_. Anything other than being ignored. If Bill’s going to concentrate attention on this moron, he  _demands_ something in response. "I like this heart thing," Bill admits, bouncing the thing in one hand. "You're not getting it back, by the way."

Pine Tree throws his hands in the air, then lets them drop back onto the bed with a thump. “Of course. Of  _course_!” He makes a face at the blood on the sheets, then vanishes it with a thought. His control over the Mindscape is damned impressive for a mortal. He's got at least a few good qualities, Bill could have done worse. “You changed your mind. I guess you do that all the time,” Pine Tree says, and it’s accurate! Bill is impressed with his assessment. Changing minds  _is_ Bill’s thing.

Pine Tree groans and slaps himself on the face with both hands, and continues. “But, yeah, you would do this. Why  _say_ something, when you can  _steal someone’s organs while they sleep_ ,” He drops back on the bed, sighing. “Makes perfect sense.”

Bill feels a sudden throb of warmth through himself, and, for a brief, awkward moment, flickers pink. He doesn’t know how this mortal learned so much about him, how Pine Tree seems to  _get_ him, but it’s incredible. He loves it.

He drifts in quickly, but Dipper shoves him away with one hand, propping himself up on his elbows. Bill glares, but lets himself be moved back. His human glares back. Then he frowns a little, and pokes Bill with one finger, pressing him back with just the slightest effort.

Bill drifts back further. What does this idiot want from him? He resists a little at the end of his human’s reach, and glares. Who the hell does he-

But now that he looks, Dipper is looking slightly surprised, eyes widened slightly.

“So-” Dipper rubs the back of his neck, clearing his throat. He makes a vague gesture between the two of them. “What if I said no?”  
  
Bill rolls his eye. "You aren't going to, meatsack," and moves in again - he gets held away as he tries to hover closer, but gentler this time. Now the kid stares at him, not shoving him away, just holding Bill back with a few soft fingers. It’s annoying as hell, but for some reason Dipper seems pleased. “The hell, kid.” Bill glares at him. He pokes at his human’s hand. “Am I wasting my time here?”

There’s a horrible (fascinating!) moment where Bill thinks his human is going to banish him, to start the incantations that would protect him from Bill’s influence (but he knows ways around them, he can make  _every nightmare_ -) 

Dipper shakes his head, tucks his arms around himself, and his face pinks. Bill pauses, but the kid glances at him, sighs, and makes a very small beckoning gesture.

About time. Bill darts in close, beating heart still cupped in one hand, and wraps his other arm around Pine Tree’s neck, pressing his side against his human’s cheek. It’s warm, and grows warmer as it fills with more blood while Bill touches it. “Aw, look at you! Took you long enough, kid. You should really be flattered,” Bill pats his human’s face gently.  _Ugh_ , he does things  _gently_ with this mortal. So embarrassing. “You’re stuck with me now.”  
  
Dipper takes a long breath in, then lets it out slowly. Bill listens to the flickers of his thoughts ( _can’t believe / how did I get into / stupid to want / going to survive this?_ ) He runs a hand over his face, but Bill can still see how he’s blushing. “I still think you’re up to something,” Dipper mumbles.

Bill laughs and pulls his human in tighter, and Dipper grunts as Bill’s edges dig into his cheek, hard. “Of course I am!” His motives are, for once in a very, very long time, embarrassingly transparent. But the longer Pine Tree thinks he has an ulterior motive, the longer the kid’s going to be interested. “And you’re never going to know what it is. It’s funny how dumb you are.”

“Oh yeah?” Dipper grabs at one of Bill's sides and turns him slightly to look at him full on. He gives a sudden, wide smile ( _so that's what he- / I can work with this_ ) - then frowns. “I'll figure it out, Cipher,” His eyes narrow, his tone is rough, and aggressive, but Bill can sense playfulness behind it. “You’ll never get what you want.” The corner of Pine Tree’s mouth keeps twitching upward.

Oh no.

Something’s wrong.

Bill shakes himself and adjusts his bowtie, buying himself a few moments even though it’s perfectly even.

It’s back again. This time the bubbly feeling isn’t gross or painful. It’s just…  _bubbly_. Effervescent, even, and it ripples through Bill like fire through a forest, making him feel lighter, and eager. Looking at Dipper’s stupid face - repressing a smile in the most  _idiotic_ way possible - is making him want to laugh, and crush him into paste, and eat his soul, and it's making this feeling worse. Without the gross-ache part, he kind of…  _doesn’t_  want it to stop.

Well, anyway, he’s got this human where he wants him. There’s more than enough time to figure it out. There's probably a name for this, but he'll look it up later.

Bill wriggles the fingers of his free hand against Dipper’s neck, then sets the hand holding the kid’s heart on fire. He’s not going to burn it, yet. The flames only tickle over this part of the kid’s soul, and he jumps.

Dipper gasps for a moment, then he shivers, clutching at the skin over where his essence should be beating in his chest. He lets out a soft huff of breath, and swallows, slowly. His heart speeds up, spilling a little more blood onto the sheets.

“This is mine now, kid,” Bill cackles, and he vanishes his toy into his personal part of the Mindscape, before rubbing his hands together. He glows so brightly that his human squints his eyes. “You really think you can stop me?”  
  
“Yeah,” His human says, voice cracking slightly, but he’s smiling for real. “Yeah, I think I can.”   
  
“Well,” Bill draws the word out slowly, hovering close to his human. Dipper crosses his arms, narrowing his eyes in mock defiance. Even though it’s not real, it’s  _defiance_ , Bill  _loves_ it. It sends such a wave of sensation through him that he has to force himself not to laugh. "We'll just see about-" He stops.

Then he curses quietly, realizing something. He’s neglected at  _least_ five time zones in the time he’s taken to drag his human into this, not including all the time they’ve spent chatting. There’s a lot to catch up on.

“We’ll pick this up later, Pine Tree,” The slightly disappointed face his human makes affects Bill harder than he thought it would. Maybe he could stay a while. Maybe he _-_ No. No, that way  _sanity_ lies.

Bill doesn’t have a throat, but he makes a sound as though he’s clearing one. “See you later, kid,” He narrows his eye. “If you don't sleep tomorrow night, I'm gonna break your mind into pieces and use 'em as toothpicks.”  
  
Dipper looks confused and holds a finger up in the air, almost as if he's about to ask a question. Then he shrugs, turning his head away. He runs a hand through his hair, and he pulls his blankets up. “See you, Bill.”   
  
Bill pauses. There’s something that people do when they’re involved- of course!

He moves closer, grabs his human’s face, and presses it against himself. Not  _quite_ the same as when the kid initiates it, but warm and soft enough that he enjoys it. It seems to startle Dipper, and off in Bill's part of the Mindscape, the kid's heart starts speeding up again.  
  
Bill backs off before his human can respond. He has just enough time before vanishing to see Pine Tree clutch at the sheets, and enjoy how red his face has turned. He leaves the kid’s headspace and drifts off into dreams.

Who says that relationships are difficult? Bill has this in the bag. He’s feeling pretty good right now. Everything went better than expected, he has the most  _fascinating_ new prize, and - oh.

Huh. Of course. Humans  _hate_ pain. He slaps himself, sighing. That explains some of his human's anger. Might have been useful to remember that earlier.

So. Maybe Pine Tree has a decent dream for once in his life, at least for that night. So what.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bill, one day you're going to break Dipper's nose trying to do the face press thing with him.


	7. Chapter 7

This human has never known what he’s dealing with. He thinks he knows what Bill is, and how to handle him. And he’s going to  _regret_ his arrogance.

Bill can respect overstepping one’s bounds, but not when it means someone thinks they can  _control_ him. Bill’s also not terribly fond of summons, but when they let him mess with the physical world, especially like this? Of course he’ll respond!

He got one less than an hour ago, and surprise, surprise - it was his favorite little fleshbag. The idiot even let him into the Shack. Now Bill’s physically present, and capable of doing whatever he wants.

His human should have expected this.

Dipper Pines struggles in Bill’s grip, held up by his shirt, Bill’s arm is tucked up underneath the waist and emerging from his collar, bunching the thing up and holding this ridiculous human in the air. His feet kick, just inches from the ground, and he curses and tries to shove Bill away.

“You shouldn’t be surprised, kid,” Bill says happily, drifting forwards and dragging Pine Tree along with him for the ride. “You’re my toy, and you’re boring me. Maybe it’s about time I got rid of you.”

“Seriously? Fuck you.” Dipper swears, struggling with his shirt, trying to free himself.

Bill laughs and drops him. Pine Tree lands hard on his back on a table, letting out a gasp, hand still clasped around a charm dangling with sigils that he  _thought_ would protect him.

“It’s funny how you thought you could trust anything I said, meatsack,” Bill says, and plucks Pine Tree’s pathetic little ward out of his hand, casting it aside. “You know what’s going to happen now?”  
  
His human tenses, glaring at him, defiance in his gaze. “You’re not going to get away with this.” He hisses, and then yelps as the table underneath him is lit into hot, searing blue fire. He struggles, but Bill grabs his shoulders-  
  
Someone clears their throat nearby.

Bill freezes, and so does Pine Tree.

Mabel Pines is standing in the doorway to the kitchen, staring at them.

“Wait!” Dipper shoves himself up, flames licking up his sides, pushing Bill away urgently. He looks worried. Bill glares, but lets himself be moved back. “Mabel, this isn’t what it looks like.”

Mabel’s mouth is drawn into a thin line. She shakes her head slowly, and as Bill watches, Dipper cringes into himself, the fire flickering over his clothes. (Bill can’t  _believe_ he made it harmless, but the kid insisted. Sometimes sacrifices have to be made for the sake of greater fun.)   
  
“Oh, I  _know_  what this is,” Mabel states, sounding unimpressed. She rolls her eyes and crosses her arms. “Seriously, get a room, guys.” Pine Tree stares at his sibling in shock.

“This  _is_ a room,” Bill points out, but Shooting Star just shakes her head again and gives her brother a knowing look. Dipper’s mouth gapes open in surprise. Then he smacks himself on the face with both hands, groaning and falling back onto the table into the fire, looking about as embarrassed as Bill has ever seen him.

Bill rolls his eye. So overly dramatic. “Oh come on, kid, this is hardly the worst thing you’ve ever been caught doing.” Pine Tree says something muffled, and Bill doesn’t care to interpret it. Instead, he waves at Shooting Star. “You mind? Kind of in the middle of something here.” Things were just getting good!   
  
She gives Bill a displeased look, but moves on. And thankfully, she shuts the door on her way out.

Bill glimmers in contentment, and turns his attention back to Pine Tree. He lies in the flames, hands still covering his face, then slowly lets himself slide off the table, legs first. He rests on his knees, and Bill snaps off the fire on the table in an instant. Not gonna waste power when there’s no mortal there to feel it.

Bill waits, then pokes his human a couple of times, but Pine Tree’s still hunched over himself. He crosses his arms and sulks. “C’mon, you put in all this effort to get me here, now you don’t want to take advantage of it?” Damn it, he was looking  _forward_ to- Whatever. Apparently they’re not going to get to it today, not if Pine Tree is going to be like this.

“All of this is insane,” Pine Tree says. “I don’t know, am I crazy?”  
  
Bill considers that, and pats his human on the head, running through his mind. Idly, Bill notices his hair is soft. And probably needs washing. “You’re at least a little weird. Could be a little more, though. Hmm.” He hums contemplatively.

Then he perks up, thinking of the possibilities, and snaps his fingers. He’s driven tons of mortals mad, he can give the kid any flavor of insanity he wants. “Pick your poison, Pine Tree, I’ve done this before! What’re ya looking for? Hallucinations? Delusions? Self-doubt? Oh, hey!” He brightens up and gasps. “Or I could yank you out of reality! Again!”

That would mean that he could have the kid in the Mindscape  _all the time_. Forget existing in reality, that’d be much more convenient. For a lot of things.  
  
Dipper glares at Bill and smacks him across the front, shoving him away. Bill gives him an irritated look, and his human straightens up and brushes himself off. “No, Bill. I‘ve been there, and it sucks. I like my mind as it is.” He sounds extremely annoyed. Considering their history, the fact that it’s not straight-up anger is a win in Bill’s book.

“Anyway, I think Mabel pretty much ruined the…” Pine Tree pauses and rubs at his face, as if he can hardly believe what he’s saying. “The mood. Such as it was.”

Bill sulks, dimming and letting his arms drop. Things were going so  _well_. If Shooting Star hadn’t been so helpful early on, he’d track her down and- whoa.  
  
Pine Tree grabs Bill by one of his hands and starts walking. Bill lets his arm extend as the kid marches away, staying in place, amused. It takes Pine Tree a few moments before he notices that Bill’s not following him, and he turns to look. He is not amused.

“Seriously?” He asks, then, “Nevermind, I knew you were always going to be an ass.” Dipper Pines rolls his eyes and keeps walking, dragging Bill’s arm through the Shack as he heads back through the door, and then upstairs.   
  
After several moments - and walls and corners that dig unpleasantly into Bill’s arm as it trails along behind Pine Tree - he finally follows.

Bill zips up to Dipper almost instantly, and though his human lets out an annoyed noise, Bill ignores it and squeezes on his fleshy fingers. Then he grasps at the palm, squishing it, feeling the hard bones beneath the soft tissue. Bill’s not one to deal in flesh, but for some reason this idiot’s weird, blood-filled substance fascinates him.

Dipper makes a few perfunctory grabs at Bill, trying to snatch him out of the air, and Bill dodges each time, chuckling at each miss. Pine Tree mutters something under his breath, stomps into his bedroom, and Bill follows, distracted. The tendons in his human’s wrist alternate between hard and soft, depending on whether he’s trying to get his hand around Bill or not. Blood flows through him easily, running around in a soft, rhythmic torrent.

How is it that this one mortal’s squishy, decaying body could be so fascinating?

Don’t even get him started about the potential his human has for magic, and havoc, and how the darker places of his mind could be… encouraged, just a little. The kid’s got layers of interest to uncover, and Bill is looking forward to slowly flaying them apart.

During Bill’s distraction, Pine Tree finally manages to get a hold of him, hand cupping one of Bill’s corners and hauling him in. Both of his mortal’s arms wrap around him, and his human lets himself fall backwards onto the bed. Bill clasps his arms around Pine Tree’s, startled.

Bill is clutched against mortal flesh, the human under him pressing his cheek near Bill’s top point, making his hat tilt slightly to the right. It’s oddly pleasant, feeling the kid’s chest rise and fall, air moving in and out of him, sustaining his short mortal life. (He’s not thrilled that his hat is out of place, but he’ll tolerate it for a while)

“The hell, kid, you gotta stop doing this.” Bill’s not actually upset. This is pretty great, but hey, he’s still gotta argue. It’s the principle of the thing! “You think you can just manhandle me whenever you want?”  
  
“Yes.” The arrogant moron doesn’t even hesitate to respond. The ribcage underneath Bill heaves suddenly in several small, repressed jerks..

“You can’t, ya know. Causes sudden death. Or less than sudden death, by fire,” Bill adds. Also, now that he’s thinking about it… since they couldn’t earlier- “And hey, did you know that bedsheets are really flammable?” Bill aims for casual, and by his human’s reaction, misses by a mile.

The body underneath him twitches more with repressed amusement.

Well, you win some, you lose some. (Bill almost always wins, and while this hasn’t happened yet with Pine Tree, he’s got time for this to work out in his favor. He has a whole lifetime. He has  _eons_.)  
  
The chest underneath him shudders again, briefly, and Pine Tree smiles. “No thanks. I thought I’d take a nap instead.”

Bill pauses at that, and takes a moment to gaze into the Mindscape. Yep, he’s still got part of Pine Tree’s essence, and it’s beating away like hell at the moment. That, and a slow inspection of Pine Tree’s subconscious mind shows him that a part of Bill’s self is still nestled close to the kid’s soul.

Nice. If the kid thinks flesh is the height of fun, he’s clearly never even _comprehended_ what playing with energy is like.

Bill cackles to himself as he thinks of ways to use this, ignoring the way Pine Tree smacks him over the eye at the noise. He hits the kid’s hand away, and keeps laughing. The ribs underneath him heave in a long, slow, exasperated sigh.

The blankets get pulled up. Bill doesn’t feel much from things that aren’t alive enough to dream, but there’s a general sense of softness and very slight pressure over part of his front. Behind him, there’s the steady pulse of blood through flesh, and skin warm and slightly moving, imbued with life. His human shuffles where he lies, getting comfortable.

“Good night, Bill. You’re a total asshole,” Dipper Pines says firmly. “But I still kinda like you.” And he relaxes, as he drifts off into sleep, arms heavy over Bill’s front and gripped around his sides.

Bill’s stays in the physical realm, lingering for a long minute as Pine Tree’s consciousness drops into dreams. He doesn’t chase Pine Tree into the Mindscape, not quite yet. He doesn’t know why he’s hanging around, it’ll only take a moment, and then - oh, man, the  _games_ they can play!

He’s got all the power in the universe. He could destroy every part of this mortal, even the memories that others have of him. He could erase every aspect of Pine Tree’s existence, and only Bill would remember the traces of his temporary life. The kid would be as if he never was. Or if Bill wanted, he could torture him, and leave the memories in  _everyone’s_ minds, so that thousands could live his pain. There’s so  _much_ he can do.

He’s not going to do it.

But he could, though! He needs to remind himself of that sometimes.

Ugh, this -  _whatever_ this is, he still doesn’t have a word for the feeling - is absolutely the worst. It’s both a pain, and a pleasure? It’s a pleasure that hurts, a kind of pain that Bill’s deeply enjoying.

“You’re okay, I guess, fleshbag.” Bill mutters (the kid’s dreams are going to be  _awful_ , it’s gonna be awesome, he’s saved up some  _very_  specific nightmares)  and though he’ll vanish into the Mindscape to join his mortal in a second, he lingers for another moment.

He reaches down over the blankets, and carefully burns a large symbol in two curved lines onto the sheets. Smoke rises in the room, but the Shack is dilapidated enough that no alarm goes off. (It’s overly sentimental, sure. But between the initial nightmare and then - well. Bill’s sure he’s an expert, but it’ll be easier to get his human to wanna repeat it if he’s properly romanced)

And now - dream prepared, human essence in his possession, said human a willing participant in something that’s going to be even  _greater_ than any nightmare-

Bill rubs his hands together in glee, just before he vanishes.

This is gonna be  _fun_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's that. Thanks to everyone for reading this weird little fic. I hope you enjoyed it, and thanks for all your kudos and comments.

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on tumblr at tswwwit. Edited for AO3. Thank you for reading!


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